Gary's "Financial Declaration of Independence" lists 15 things that constitute freedom, financially speaking. How many of these areas do you feel as if you have complete control? Can you mark them off and say, "Yes, I am (can, do, etc.)."  

There's one that bothers me... buying a car without taking out a loan. The first time I bought a car with cash, I said I'd never make vehicle payments again. My car is 13 years old and has been a good one, but there are limits, so it's time to tighten up the belt and beef up the savings account. 

What about you? Is there an area that you feel as if you need to settle down and take control?

WHERE IM' NOT IN CONTROL OR WORKING ON GETTING CONTROL 

Not carrying a credit card balance.

Our goal was to pay all of it off in a year. So far, we are halfway through already! So, making lots of progress here. But, more importatly IMHO, our (or my husband's LOL) attitudes have changed about credit cards.

Have six months of expenses in savings.

Once the credit cards and sign. loans are paid off, we'll start saving the same amount (same amount we were paying in minimums and pay offs) each month in a savings for a downpayment on the house. Downpayment is the long-term goal of that savings but short-term it'll provide a nice cushion!

Being able to buy a car without an auto loan.

We've always driven used and paid out right. But we finally broke down and bought a new car for me.... because I have a long commute and can't afford to miss even a couple of days because of a car problem, we just were tired of the unreliability of a used car. Before my long commute (when I worked in our area), I always drove older vehicles. It didn't matter to me at all and I despised the idea of a car note. But, once the situation changed, my opinion changed.

Freedom from financial fears.

This will probably never go away. I don't dwell on it (give it to God) but I'll always stress some about finaces. At the rate we are going (with our long and short term financial goals, change in attitudes, plans for the future, etc.) I think that we will one day reach a point where we are living very modestly and have little debt... but in the mean time we are paying for past mistakes and catching up. But, again, on a positive note - we're making awesome progress.

Own my home without a mortgage.

Honestly, I don't see that happening any time soon for us. Our area is very expensive and because of work, it's not much of an option for us to move out to the REAL country to get land an a house that we can buy out right. I'm trying to talk my DH into moving to PA (where he is from) in order to get a much better start b/c their land and houses much cheaper (but not much work there for him)... but if we stay here, which we probably will, land is super expensive. We will spend about 2 years saving ALL of my income for a downpayment which will be a lot more than most we know put down. But it won't even come close to paying outright. And, just so you know, we are looking at a few acres with just an old trailer or old fixer up house. We aren't talking new. But even something like that here costs a LOT. High demand area I guess. But, we don't plan to get stuck in a mortgage that's over our heads either. We'll stay where we are (renting dirt cheap but crammed) before we do that.

Income dependent on interest from savings, not from working.

Don't see that ever happening.... though we do want to eventually have rental trailers/mobile homes on our property. Around here, you can make a decent "living" from that.... DH has lots of handyman skills so we'd do the work ourselves.

Having sufficient retirement savings.

Might be umpopular (maybe not so much now with the economy probs) but I don't plan on having my retirement savings so much in the traditional ways. I plan to work really hard at paying off our mortgage (out out-right by the time we consider retirement; maybe never LOL) and to become more self-sufficient and live a more simple lifestyle that wouldn't require as much of a retirement savings. And we hope to have rental properties to pay our small bills that we hope to have only those at that time (i.e. utilities, insurance, groceries).

Have a blessed day,

Julie

For the most part we are on top of most of that list. We just bought a car but put a large down payment and it will be paid off in 8 months. There are two areas not mentioned that do cause me angst. While they aren't on the list, they can directly impact our financial life. One is a medical diagnosis that could disrupt our situation and the other is identity theft. We do all we can to protect ourselves but honestly when I hear stories about these two issues and what happens to families, I get a knot in my stomach.

Toni, that stuff can get to me too, especially thinking about having a major medical crisis.  Makes me break into a cold sweat!

We are making progress on that list . . . kind of!  We have the smaller ones mastered (paying bills on time, not fearing bill collectors, being content with what we have-for the most part!-, etc).  We fall short on the biggies on the list-working on paying off credit card debt, building suffficient savings to rely on for emergencies/job loss and to be able to pay cash for larger purchases like a car.  I would love someday to be able to own our home without a mortgage but we are a long way off on that.  It WILL happen someday!  Like Julie, our area is very pricey for housing, the kind of property we'd like to someday own would be  expensive ($650K minimum).  We hope to pay down this mortgage as much as possible, hopefully have some equity come back and have additional savings to someday put down.  If it never happens though, we could be happy here for a long time.  Nice to have dreams and something to work towards!

Other things we need to work on are (re)building our retirement savings, plus college savings for the kids (we don't have any at the moment), and getting to the point where our money is working for us instead of the other way around.

A long way to go to get to our financial independence.  Even longer to get to the level of lifestyle we hope to achieve someday-being able to travel extensively, to own the home we'd love to have, to be able to help our kids get started in life by helping them pay for education, weddings, etc.  Being able someday when they have kids of their own to take the whole family on a nice trip together.  Things like that are a long way off but we do hope to have reached the level of financial independence to be able to do them.

First step for us-pay off the debt!!!

Being comfortable with the things you have.

That's not a problem... in fact, I'm trying to clean things out and get rid of some stuff.

Pay your utility bills on time.

Not a problem.

Not carrying a credit card balance.

Comes and goes - I have a small balance now, about $800, due to some expected and unexpected expenses (expected - new tires; unexpected - had to get the main house drain cleaned out).  It will be paid off in the next several months; I would take the money out of short-term savings, but I have a couple of expected expenses coming up that must be paid in cash, so I will need that money, and wouldn't be able to rebuild it in time. I may yet take it out of the longer-term savings.

Not being afraid of bill collectors.

Not a problem.  Nothing past due, or even close.

Have six months of expenses in savings.

In progress 

Being able to be unemployed for a short period without triggering a financial crisis.

In progress

Being able to buy a car without an auto loan.

Goes with savings... by the time my current car is paid off (family loan - no interest) and needs to be replaced, I expect to be, if not right there, a lot closer than I am now.  Since my current car was purchased new and is only 2 years old, I'm hoping it will last until I retire, in 12-15 years. 

Not having any personal or debt consolidation loans.

None, unless the car loan from a family member counts; I could have financed a car when I bought the one I have, but greatfully accepted the offer of a family loan, as much as I hate owing a family member money.

Not having any unpaid student loans.

Current balance is about $5300; on track to be paid off this time next year.

Not having any 401k loans.

None... of course, I don't have a 401k, either; as a teacher, I have a 403b - no loans from that either.

Freedom from financial fears.

Fears?  Maybe not... more like concerns.  But without those concerns I wouldn't be where I am, with only student loans, car, HELOC, and mortgage (and that $800 in cc from the tires and plumbing)

Own my home without a mortgage.

On track.  With my current plans (roll student loans into HELOC, then car, then mortgage) house should be paid off within 13 years - shorter if I find additional money to accelerate the repayment.

Ability to give to needy friends/family or charitible organizations.

Yes and no.  I could - but it would slow down my debt repayment.  Currently, I give time, not money, but I hope to change that in the future.

Income dependent on interest from savings, not from working.

In progress.

Having sufficient retirement savings.

In progress.

Being comfortable with the things you have.

Yep. I could even "weed" out and get rid of things.

Pay your utility bills on time.

Not a problem.  ("calling dad")

Not carrying a credit card balance.

Not even an issue. No credit cards exist here. (Just a bank debit card).

Not being afraid of bill collectors.

Nope. Made arrangements (medical bills are the only thing I had to do this with).

Have six months of expenses in savings. / Being able to be unemployed for a short period without triggering a financial crisis. / Not having any 401k loans. / Freedom from financial fears. / Having sufficient retirement savings. / Not having any personal or debt consolidation loans.

Impossible... due to not working at the moment. 

Not having any unpaid student loans.

This will be a scary one for me... Any rich single guys out there? Sitting right now at $20k in loans (deferred right now due to hardship).

Being able to buy a car without an auto loan.

Figure, until I get into a good job. My next vehicle is a bus. (as in city bus pass) Right now car is running good, so not an issue... been paid off since 2001.

Ability to give to needy friends/family or charitible organizations.

The only way I can contribute (and this did end up in a discussion in the food stamps forum), is via food stamps. I tend to help out my friend by buying chicken for her. Also will do a "tithe" and buy food for the food pantry items at church.  Otherwise, working on donating time.

 

 

• Being comfortable with the things you have.
• Pay your utility bills on time. 
• Not being afraid of bill collectors.
• Not having any unpaid student loans.
• Not having any 401k loans.

I'm in control of these!

Pat:

There's one that bothers me... buying a car without taking out a loan. The first time I bought a car with cash, I said I'd never make vehicle payments again. My car is 13 years old and has been a good one, but there are limits, so it's time to tighten up the belt and beef up the savings account. 

What about you? Is there an area that you feel as if you need to settle down and take control?

Depending on one's age, income, and general station in life, I'm not sure that buying a car without a loan is realistic, especially for young adults. In a rare moment of "truth in advertising" Chevrolet nailed it in the slogan "It's not just a car, it's your freedom". In the cities where public transportation is a viable option one can get along fine without a car. But in rural or suburban areas, forget it. You either have a car or go live somewhere else, unless you're Amish, and they have horses. One could make do with a small motorcycle but that's tough in the winter (don't ask how I know that).

I see nothing terrible about having a car loan or a mortgage - for most people that's the only way they'll ever get to own a home, and for most a car is not a luxury, but a necessity if one has a job outside the home. If your job demands that you be reliable, then to keep that job you need a reliable car. Where people get into a jam is thinking that they "need" a new Mercedes when a 7-year-old Toyota will do fine, or in taking home equity loans to finance lifestyle things like ski trips. People who do those things will likely be slaves to the credit industry their entire lives.

The only part we're feeling a little short on is in having enough retirement savings, but at the same time we know we're way ahead of a lot of people our age. The hard part is defining what is "enough". There can never be too much but at some point one has to call it a day.

• Being comfortable with the things you have.
• Pay your utility bills on time.
• Not carrying a credit card balance.
• Not being afraid of bill collectors.
• Have six months of expenses in savings.
• Being able to be unemployed for a short period without triggering a financial crisis.
• Being able to buy a car without an auto loan.
• Not having any personal or debt consolidation loans.
• Not having any unpaid student loans.
• Not having any 401k loans.
• Freedom from financial fears.
• Own my home without a mortgage.
• Ability to give to needy friends/family or charitible organizations.
• Income dependent on interest from savings, not from working.
• Having sufficient retirement savings.

We feel in control of most of those things on the list. We have six months of savings but do not own a home without a mortgage. We have sufficient retirement savings. We have bought cars both with and without a car loan. I liked being able to do that. But...if we do it again, it would wipe out much of our six months of savings. We could be unemployed for a short time with our savings. We cannot live on interest from savings. We do give to the needy/charitable organizations and I would like to increase that amount. We only have a mortgage and no other loans. We have a small credit card balance (urgh!) from our dog's $2000 vet bill but interest free and paying off at $600-$800 per month to get it done in 3 months. We have the ability to do that with some reduced expenses for the summer (no daycare for the boys).

The thing that makes me feel "out of control" would be some sort of medical emergency. But I have to leave that up to the L-rd. While I have wonderful health insurance, it has limits and experimental things are often not covered. And cancer treatments (foremost in my mind since I just lost mom to cancer) that are cutting edge tend to be experimental. I do have disability insurance and was counseled to invest in it as it was such a low cost ($2.37 a month) and kicks in after 6 months and pays 2/3 of my gross income for as long as my disability lasts. DH does not have this option. So if anyone needs to be disabled in my family, let it be me.

I am finally at the point in my life where I am comfortable with the things I have. I put much more importance on family members and experiences that I can share with my boys rather than what I can give them or what I can buy. It has taken a while but I'm in a good place for me now.

Walt34:

Depending on one's age, income, and general station in life, I'm not sure that buying a car without a loan is realistic, especially for young adults

 

I don't think it's that hard as long as one is realistic about the car one drives. As I said, mine is 13 years old. It was used when I bought it 8 years ago and I paid $6000 for it. It shouldn't be that hard to save up $6000 over 8 years. It doesn't make money sense to buy a new car because they lose most of their value right at the beginning. 

Walt34:

I see nothing terrible about having a car loan or a mortgage - for most people that's the only way they'll ever get to own a home, and for most a car is not a luxury, but a necessity

There's nothing terrible about it, but why do it if you don't have to? I think too many people think they can't when they can. It's a matter of buckling down and doing it. You know how that works.. why am I telling you?